WWE: What’s Next For Ronda Rousey After Debut At Rumble?

The WWE has a host of options when it comes to booking former UFC champion, Ronda Rousey.

Ronda Rousey’s name hung over the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble as Sunday evening started. When it was revealed that the women’s rumble would be the main event; that speculation exploded. Her music hit and the former UFC champion walked down to the ring, setting the arena and social media space ablaze. Now that the moment has past, the conversation turns to the future and how the WWE plans to use one of the few mixed martial artists whose star power rivals Brock Lesnar.

For a few moments Rousey stood center stage with three of the biggest female stars in the WWE. Charlotte and Alexa Bliss stood with their titles over their shoulders, while Asuka basked in the glory of her historical moment. There’s potential storylines with each of these women that would draw interest.

With Bliss, Rousey it’s clear that the WWE would quickly put her over the young competitor. Even though Bliss has quickly taken to the role and carved out her own position on the show; she would pale in comparison to Rousey which would result in her dropping the title.

Then there’s Charlotte. This path comes with two storylines immediately built in. Clearly Rousey would want Charlotte’s Smackdown title and being a Flair gives Charlotte the opportunity to proclaim that she’s the women that Rousey would have to beat. Charlotte is the type of athlete in the ring that would help Rousey learn the ropes of the business; quite the same way wrestlers like Kurt Angle did with Brock Lesnar years ago.

Plus, don’t forget about the 4 Horsewomen gimmick. The grouping of Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley does big business for the WWE. They are the women credited with starting the “women’s revolution” and upping the standard of the women’s division today. On the other side of that is Rousey and her three compatriots, Shayna Bazler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir – collectively known as the 4 Horsewomen of MMA. It’s way too soon to put those eight women in the ring together, but this is a storyline that could be developed over a calendar year and make both groups worthy of a high card spot on WrestleMania 35.

But for Rousey, the WWE will certainly want to put together something big. And to achieve that WWE Creative should look no further than Stephanie McMahon. While other women get credit for the “women’s revolution,” Stephanie is not only a trail blazer in WWE but in business as a whole. Linking her and Rousey together gives the fans someone to immediately hate; helping to build Rousey into a clear baby face.

Think back to her appearance at WrestleMania 31 where she and The Rock stood across from Stephanie and Triple H. That started the conversation three years ago that came full circle on Sunday. Getting those four individuals into the ring together is a bout quality enough to be called a main event for any WWE PPV.

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Adding Ronda Rousey to the women’s division creates intrigue that will hopefully draw ratings for the WWE product. There’s so many different options that the organization could go with their newest signee. Each of these angles places her in the middle of the title picture and perhaps an even bigger storyline that garners mass appeal; exactly what the WWE needs at this time.